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A few years ago our firm, Destiny Solutions, surveyed 200
companies across North America to find out about their continuing education preferences. What we
found was almost all of these employers had a system in place
to financially support continuing education for their
staffers, but only 16 percent felt the programs available were
adequate for their needs and only 9 percent had established a
partnership with a college or university.

But now savvy higher-ed institutions are tailoring existing
programs to address the needs of corporate clients. Call it
customized education or just-in-time learning. I call it
brilliant.

Employers are seeking continuing-education opportunities for
their employees, and colleges and universities are searching for
additional revenue streams to make up for a
dip in the number of
college students. The match, in theory, works on several
levels.

But how can entrepreneurs evaluate whether the nearby college is
the dance partner of choice? The critical steps to forging a
successful partnership with a university include defining the
company's requirements, evaluating the relevance for the industry
in question, demanding quality customer service and finding
customizable courses.

Know the company's needs. Business owners
need to consider what they hope to gain from a relationship with
a college or university. Without a company's providing
requirements, a college or university will find it difficult to
satisfy the needs of the organization. The managers of a business
should evaluate whether they want employees to walk away with
theoretical concepts or concrete skills. And it is the company’s
job to make sure that the chosen institution educates students in
a way that provides the right outcomes.

Industry expertise. Employers can’t afford
to educate their employees just for learning’s sake. Instead, the
boss needs staffers to learn the precise skills that will
translate into improved performance and increased output.

The United States has t housands of accredited
higher-education providers. With so many choices, business
managers need to look for institutions that are highly attuned
to their company's marketplace and with a proven track record
of serving firms in the same industry.

Customer service. Managers typically expect a
high level of service from each vendor -- and higher-ed
institutions should provide the same. Colleges and universities
are just beginning to embrace customer service, but market
leaders understand that this is crucial to attracting and
retaining corporate clients.

“Companies will be looking for their university partner to treat
them better than commercial training providers do," Chris
Proulx, chief executive officer at my client, eCornell, stated in
an EvoLLLution post.
"The promise of the university’s brand is expected to shine
through services as well as content.”

Look for institutions that value the relationship and take steps
to provide the company and its employees with a great experience.

Be ready to customize courses. Institutions
willing to tailor programs for unique business processes
and challenges offer significant additional value. But don’t
expect them to create new programs from scratch.

The most successful colleges and universities pride themselves on
customizing offerings for individual needs. They don’t, however,
completely reinvent programs based on corporate interests.
Economically it’s just not feasible unless corporations foot
the bill. Instead, smart institutions create a framework
that allows corporations to mix and match classes to create
custom certificates or to present real-time, company-specific
case studies.